Cavs need more from Diane

If Virginia has much hope of proving prognosticators wrong and not finishing last in the ACC this season, it’s pretty obvious that, among a number of things, Mamadi Diane is going to have to rise from the dead.

The senior has been through tough stretches before, but nothing like his current slide.

Diane, the team’s leading returning scorer from last season, is seventh on the team in scoring this season, averaging just 5.7 points. The tri-captain is shooting 29 percent from the field, including 0-14 from 3-point range.

Tonight, Diane — who has come off the bench in the last two games — hopes to break out of his stupor when Virginia, after a 15-day hiatus for winter exams, returns to action against Longwood (5-5).

Virginia coach Dave Leitao, whose 3-3 squad will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak, said the key for Diane is not focusing on his offense more than other facets of his game.

“If you do well in those other areas, then your shots will fall and you’ll get more time and you’ll get more rhythm, and you’ll get more confidence,” said Leitao, whose team opens its ACC slate on Dec. 28 at Georgia Tech. “If you base [success] on your shot falling, then sometimes you get yourself in a position of which he’s been in to start the season.

“I’m trying to judge it and have him judge it on some of the other parts of his game more importantly.”

Diane is not alone in his struggles.

Sophomore Mike Scott has been up and down after some impressive early outings. Scott, who is averaging 10.0 points and 10.3 rebounds, is coming off a zero-point, six-rebound effort in the loss to Minnesota.

Leitao said he wants to see more consistency out of Scott — and just about everyone else on his roster.

“If you’ve got a 10-point scorer, you’d kind of like that guy to score 10 points every game as opposed to 20 one game and zero the next,” Leitao said. “Getting Mike and everyone else on our team to do the same thing every day has been our challenge, and will continue to be as we move forward.

“I think [Scott’s] a victim of being young enough where that stands out, and not having a couple of seniors around him who can support him both psychologically and physically when those highs and lows come about.”

In the wins over smallish VMI and Radford, Leitao went to a small-ball lineup and didn’t play any of his centers. Longwood, like the aforementioned teams, isn’t a very big squad. However, Leitao doesn’t seem inclined to go small again.

“You’d like to play the same way every game so that you can get the kind of rhythm that guys need to get and more on-court chemistry, and know who they’re playing with and gain some trust,” Leitao said. “If we don’t play a bigger lineup, then we don’t get as much offensive productivity, especially out of our fives, as we do when we play a small lineup…

“It continues to be a work in progress that we’ll assess day by day, but I’d like to think that keeping it more structured is more beneficial to us in the long run.”

Dunks

Virginia leads the all-time series with Longwood, 3-0, including a 76-57 win over the Lancers last season. … Longwood is coming off a 79-57 loss at Virginia Tech on Sunday. … The Lancers are led by senior guard Dana Smith, who is averaging 16.1 points. … Virginia is the only school in Division I to have every one of its games decided by 10 points or less. … UVa hosts Auburn on Saturday.